Hey Bangor! You’re About To Start Loving Trash Day.

When I was a teenager, I remember when the first blue bin from the city appeared on our doorstep. Recycling was a pretty new household concept at the time, in the early 90's, and it was a giant pain in the behind. The amount of sorting that went into it, and what they would and wouldn't accept, was over the top.

When I moved back to Bangor about 6 years ago, I was thrilled to see the city had switched to a single-sort recycling program. At least there was a lot less of the sorting, and it could all go in the same bin without being separated. Well now, things are about to get even more lazy-awesome than that!

Bangor's new recycling program will now entail just throwing it all away in the same trash can. No more blue bin. No more separating. No more trying to remember if it's a recycling week or not. Just throw all your trash and recycling into the same bin, and put it out on trash day. Boom. Done!

According to the city's website, they're calling it the "one bin, all-in" approach that will kick off on September 2nd. Bangor Public Works Director, Eric Willett told WABI TV-5 that it will not only be more cost effective for the city, but will also collect about 40% more recycling than it does by the current method, which is waaaaay better for the environment.

There are a few things that will not be accepted. They will not take any tires, construction debris or yard waste. But there are other ways around town to dispose of those things.

In general though, the benefits look pretty awesome. Bangor just turned recycling into a real thing for even the laziest of folks. Even folks who generally hate recycling, will now be champions of the environment. In this day and age, I'm sure that will upset some people. Hahaha. But if your taxes aren't going up, and it requires nothing of you, I personally see it as a huge win for all.